District Administration- August 2008 - (Page 14)

Letters continued Not only can most cell phones receive streaming video, but soon many will send live streams, creating the potential for classroom interactions from students far aﬁeld. Cell phones are becoming one-stop coordination, collaboration and content creation tools, quickly moving beyond talking or texting devices. These shifts will not come without costs and disruptions. But for budgetary and curricular reasons, schools must begin to prepare for the possibilities and pitfalls soon. At minimum, we need to begin to understand how to leverage the potential of these smart phones in our own learning so we can soon model their use for our students and make appropriate decisions about the ways we might engage them in the curriculum. Will Richardson, chief learning ofﬁcer, Connective Learning Your “Getting Mobile” article touches on many core One-to-One challenges, particularly the need to think carefully before selecting which type of mobile devices will be used. We all recognize that students need the best tools for learning, and this choice shouldn’t be based on price alone, but rather on appropriateness for the task. I applaud the teachers who use PDAs and iPods in innovative ways to transform the curriculum. The danger here is in assuming these devices should be the only device students use in One-to-One schools, replacing fuller featured full-size or ultraportable laptops. (I view an ultraportable, for example, the OLPC’s XO and Intel’s Classmate, as being in a diﬀerent category from PDAs and cell phones.) Although I am happy to use a Blackberry for my e-mail or a PDA for recording data on the go, I would not want to use a similar-sized device when working on or building a spreadsheet, writing a long report, creating a movie, programming a game, or (perhaps, one day) writing my novel. As the article so aptly states, devices should be personal, portable, multimodal and constructive. We want students to be producers of knowledge and knowledge products, not just consumers. We want them to see the big picture, and screen size does make a diﬀerence. Your article will stimulate the critical conversations that should occur around One-to-One and transforming schools and learning environments. Let’s hope more and more schools get involved in this discussion. Susan Einhorn, executive director, Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation (AALF) Letters to the Editor may be sent to jhartnett@districtadministration.com, or mailed to Judy F. Hartnett, District Administration, 488 Main Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851. Selections that are published may be edited for length and clarity, and become the property of District Administration. PLC is more powerful than ever! Revisiting Professional Learning Communities at Work™ New Insights for Improving Schools By Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, and Robert Eaker This 10th-anniversary sequel to the authors’ best-selling book Professional Learning Communities at Work™: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement merges research and practice to offer the most extensive, practical, and authoritative examination of how schools at all levels can use the PLC concept to improve learning, both for students and the adults who serve them. BKF252 (paperback) BKF259 (hardcover) $34.95 $42.95 www.solution-tree.com 800.733.6786 14 August 2008 District Administration http://www.solution-tree.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration- August 2008

District Administration - August 2008
Contents
Editor's Letter
Letters
News Update
Curriculum
English Language
8th Annual Salary Survey
Do You Know the Drill?
The Evolution of Notification Systems
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Problem Solutions
Technology Books
Profession Opinion
Supervisor's Opinion
Crisis Response
Speaking Out
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration- August 2008